Norrell done for the year

by Jeff Nusser on Sep 8, 2009 9:03 PM PDT

Updated 10:13 p.m.

Well, that didn't take long. Paul Wulff announced on his radio show tonight that the team unity council has decided to suspend wide receiver Kevin Norrell after his run-in with the law over Labor Day weekend.

Here's the skinny from Grippi:

After talking with some players, it’s obvious Norrell’s actions – missing a game because he was sick, then instead of being home recuperating and getting well for Hawaii, being out at 3 a.m. – has caused a lot of friction with his teammates – no matter what he was doing. The time of the incident alone is hard for his teammates to get over.

Norrell had put in the work over the offseason, was doing things on the field he had not been capable of doing last year and was expected to be a big contributor this season. That’s another reason his teammates feel betrayed, and makes it tough for them to understand.

It sounds as if the door has been left open for Norrell to make amends and rejoin the team, and he does have a redshirt available after playing last year as a true freshman.

It might seem like a double standard with all the things Xavier Hicks and others have done, and it also might seem odd that a final decision was made before the legal system ran its course. After all, he's only been charged. But the key here is trust. This team has been preaching trust and accountability ever since last season ended, and this was a pretty big breach of it. That seems to be Norrell's biggest sin in all of this.

And, oh by the way: Grippi's post also includes a practice report. Well worth the read.

EDIT 10:13 p.m.: There's one more paragraph worth noting in this story by Grippi, which apparently is first running on The Seattle Times site:

The decision means Norrell, who played in 13 games and caught 11 passes as a true freshman, will not be allowed to practice or play this season. The situation will be re-evaluated at the end of the semester, according to a WSU spokesman.

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Comments

I'm about halfway off the Wulff train

Let me start by saying that I initially was fine with giving Wulff 4-5 years to get us back on track. While I still am willing to be patient with him for the on-field product, I just don’t understand the disciplinary problems we are running into off-the-field.

I was on board with the cleaning out process, because I thought it was all Doba recruits that were the problems. Now it seems his own recruits are the ones getting themselves in trouble. I’m starting to question how he evaluates character or whether he just doesn’t care and is willing to take a flyer on anybody with a decent skill set?

I know he rushed with that first recruiting class, but do you guys think its going to get better any time soon?

by LeaveItToWeaver on Sep 8, 2009 10:57 PM PDT reply actions

I think

that what is happening here is establishing expectations for those part of the WSU football team. Although I understand where you are coming from on questioning whether or not he is recruiting the best type of character, but I also think it is pretty hard to know the exact type of guy you are going to get when you bring in an 18 year old kid. A lot of change happens when you go from HS to college.

I like that they did this though. I don’t now if this was a Saturday night of going out or if it was a Sunday or even a Monday, but I have been sick before (as we all have) and I know for a fact I would be quicker to be able to participate in a game before I would be willing to go out and rip it off (drink). This speaks more to the team’s character as a whole compared to one guy. They feel hurt because a guy who can help the team win can go out and get drunk and not battle with his teammates. I hope that Wulff can weed those guys out during the recruiting process, but it is tough to identify those guys when you are trying to bring in 20 guys with Pac-10 talent. Doesn’t excuse the fact if he overlooked it, but I do think that Wulff is a pretty stand up guy and has implemented an attitude with the team that these type of selfish acts will not be tolerated. My $.02

by diehardcoug on Sep 8, 2009 11:31 PM PDT reply actions

Norrell made a huge mistake and is paying for it

This should get every players attention that they are accountable for their actions. I have no way of knowing but I haven’t heard about any issues with Norrell. He obviously worked hard and they will miss him this year.

These are still young kids who are prone to make mistakes. The response from the Unity Counsel speaks volumes about the kind of program Wulff is building.

by BornCoug on Sep 9, 2009 3:20 AM PDT reply actions

I think we are OK at WR without him

We could have really used him, but we still have Anderson, Karstetter, SImone, Blackledge (who filled in nicely for Norrell with 6 catches 67 yds), and Montgomery coming out of the backfield.

by peaty411s on Sep 9, 2009 8:15 AM PDT reply actions

My understanding was that he was similar to Simone in terms of skill set

So, by that definition, it probably doesn’t hurt that much. But with the lack of ability of our receivers to get open, taking away one more option can’t help — especially if we suffer the inevitable injury at some point.

Oh, and Johnny Forzani is possibly going to play this weekend, so maybe he can mitigate some of the loss. Although I think expectations have been lowered quite a bit in regards to his contributions this year.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Sep 9, 2009 10:04 AM PDT up reply actions